If your Linkedin profile is a few lines and a missing profile picture, then it’s time to make things right. While your LinkedIn profile doesn’t need to be a full copy of our CV, there are a few things you can do that will make it a lot easier for recruiters to find you as well as increasing the chances that they will contact you when they do. Before you kick off your job search make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to scratch with these 5 LinkedIn pro tips that will help you get found by recruiters, and contacted!

1. Add your profile picture  

They say a picture says a thousand words. So what does no picture say? Well, not very much, and certainly nothing beneficial when it comes to your job search. That’s first the first very LinkedIn tip is to make sure you have a profile picture added. 

If you’ve been avoiding adding your profile picture, then you might want to reconsider. 

The most common reason that people avoid adding a profile picture to their LinkedIn profiles is the fear of discrimination. While this is a very real and understandable concern, unfortunately, not having a photo will not necessarily stop someone who is prepared to discriminate from doing so on any grounds. They might just do so further along in the process. 

On the other hand, there are lots of important reasons why having a profile picture is highly beneficial including: 

Personal branding 

Personal branding isn’t just for CEOs, celebrities, and politicians anymore, and your personal brand can play a key role in your career progress at any stage.

Wikipedia describes a brand as “an overall experience of a customer that distinguishes an organization or product from its rivals in the eyes of the customer…”

and the Oxford dictionary describes a brand as “ A particular identity or image regarded as an asset.”

Whichever definition you prefer, it’s clear that your personal brand is the identity or image that is portrayed through everything you do or say whether on or offline. And how you represent yourself to the world including your future employer. 

Your profile picture forms part of your brand and could be viewed as your brand logo, particularly if you use the same picture across more than one platform. Therefore, having a professional profile picture is important when it comes to building and establishing a professional personal brand. 

Credibility

Have you ever come across a social media account on any platform that barely had any activity on it, and then it didn’t even have a photo. What were your thoughts? 

And what would you think if you were contacted by someone with such an account? 

Everyone including recruiters wants to be sure that they are interacting with real people and not spam or fake accounts set up for other reasons. 

Make sure you don’t get passed over because there’s a question of credibility where your account is concerned. 

Rapport

People like doing business with people, that’s just human nature, and recruiters and hiring managers are no different. Your profile picture makes you a person. It makes you personable and helps you to build rapport in the absence of an in-person meeting, so don’t miss out on the opportunity. 

Authenticity

Have you looked up your name in LinkedIn? More importantly, how common is your name?

While we’re all special snowflakes, for many people there are lots of people who have exactly the same name. What’s more, it might surprise you to know that some of those people may have even worked in the same company as you at some point or another, or may have the same job title! 

Having a recognizable profile picture will help past colleagues who may be considering referring you. This way they can be sure that they recommend the real you to the internal recruitment team if they do so via LinkedIn.

2. Work your headline 

Along with your profile picture, your headline is one of the first things recruiters will see when they look you up. If you’re actively looking for a new job, it’s a good idea to put the title of the role you’re looking in this area. When recruiters review people on Linkedin, a profile that clearly states the right role they are hiring for or a similar relevant title will quickly grab their attention. 

If you’re in a technical field including your technical skill sets in this area, separating each point with the | symbol will highly increase your chances of being found by recruiters. 

3. Request recommendations

If you don’t have any recommendations yet, then nows the time to ask. Recommendations demonstrate up front what others think of your good work and positive words can only be a good thing. That’s why LinkedIn tip #3 is to make sure you get recommendations. Or get more if you already have some. 

4. Add all skills 

Did you know that you can add skills to your LinkedIn profile? And you can also get endorsed for these skills. What you might not know is that recruiters can search for potential candidates using these skills, which is why adding them increases the chances of recruiters finding you.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get found by recruiters by following this simple LinkedIn tip. Make sure to include not just technical skills but your core soft skills as well. 

5. Increase your network

They say your network is your net worth and where your career is concerned this couldn’t be truer. The more you increase the number of connections you have the more likely it is that you will be connected to someone who may play a key role in your career at some point in the future.

A great example of how important your network is is the story of how the founders of Innocent soft drinks managed to raise the capital they needed to push forward with the business. 

After hitting what felt like a dead end, one of the founders emailed almost everyone in his network and asked if anyone knew someone rich. Through this one email, an old school friend was able to connect them with an investor and the rest is history!

After all, we are all just six steps away from everyone and anyone, according to the theory of six degrees of separation. The hiring manager of your dream job or the investor for that business idea you have might just be in your LinkedIn network, or someone you haven’t connected to … yet.